Seventy-seven (77) units out of the 114 United States M113A2 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) arrived in Subic Naval base evening of Wednesday, December 9.
The said armored vehicles were used by Americans in their operation against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Later, after the Afghan war, the U.S. government decided to donate and transfer some of it to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) through the “Excess Defense Articles” (EDA) program.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila said that the remaining 37 units are scheduled to arrive next week. All units are to be transferred to AFP later this month.
Mechanized Infantry Division (MID) public affairs office chief Major Filemon Tan earlier said that “all of 114 U.S. M113 APCs coming are operational and in running condition. However, we will still be going to check and do some testings before accepting them for service.”
The Philippines did not pay for the acquisition of the armored vehicles except for the shipping and refurbishment costs as agreed upon under the (EDA) program agreement. -Carl E.
